The cardiorespiratory system consists of the heart, blood vessels, and lungs, and is responsible for circulating oxygenated blood throughout the body. At rest, the heart beats 50-90 times per minute and breathing is 12-20 breaths per minute, while during exercise the heart rate increases to 170-210 beats per minute and breathing increases to 40-60 breaths per minute. Benefits of cardiorespiratory exercise include improved fitness, metabolism, health, weight control, immunity, and mood. The document provides examples of simple tests to assess cardiorespiratory fitness levels, such as walk, step, and run tests measuring completion time and heart rate recovery.